Local
Trans community, allies observe Day of Remembrance
Activists vow to persevere following year of increase in anti-trans violence
More than 150 people turned out Sunday night at D.C.ās Metropolitan Community Church for the 12th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, an international event that recognizes transgender people who have lost their lives to anti-trans violence.
Organizers said the annual observance began in 1999 in recognition of Rita Hester, a transgender woman in Boston who was killed the previous year in what authorities have called an anti-transgender hate crime. Since that time, Transgender Day of Remembrance events have taken place in dozens of cities in the U.S. and abroad.
āThese were our brothers and sisters, family members, friends, people of faith, innocent and quite often, as is the case in this crazy world of ours, they have been taken from us by violence,ā said transgender activist Jessica Xavier, one of the organizers of the D.C. event.
āBut theyāre not martyrs,ā Xavier said. āThey didnāt die for a cause. They werenāt a member of any political movement. They were human beings, just like all of usā¦This is a time for caring and compassion, for healing and for hope, for sorrow but also strength.ā
MORE IN THE BLADE: TRANS ACTIVISTS HOLD PROTEST OUTSIDE POLICE, US ATTORNEY OFFICES
The highlight of the event included the reading of the names of transgender people from the D.C. area and others from across the nation and throughout the world that lost their lives to hate violence based on their gender identity or expression.
Following the reading of each name, the audience responded by saying, āWe remember them.ā
Transgender activists Julius Agers and Ruby Corado read the names of local transgender victims who lost their lives between 2000 and 2009 and international victims, including several from Latin America, who lost their lives in 2011.
Corado read the name of Lashai Mclean, a 23-year-old D.C. transgender woman who was shot to death in Northeast D.C. in August of this year. Agers read the name of Gaurav āGigiā Gopalan, a 35-year-old aerospace engineer who was found fatally wounded on a sidewalk in the cityās Columbia Heights section on Sept. 10 of this year.
Police said Gopalan died in a hospital a short time later of blunt force trauma to the head. Police have yet to make an arrest in either of the two cases.
Gopalan, who lived his professional life as an out gay man, was dressed in womenās clothes when he was found unconscious on the street, according to police. Although many of Gopalanās friends said they considered him a gay man, transgender activists say he likely was targeted because of his appearance as a transgender woman.
Earline Budd, an official with the D.C. organization Transgender Health Empowerment and the lead organizer of Sunday nightās Transgender Day of Remembrance, said the event has grown significantly over the past several years.
Budd told the gathering that a greater recognition that anti-transgender violence is rooted in ignorance, hatred and discrimination would lead to the eventual decrease in such violence.
Budd and transgender activist Ruby Corado said they were encouraged by the large numbers of gays, lesbians and straight allies that have joined the effort to fight anti-transgender violence. Corado praised D.C. police officials, including Chief of Police Cathy Lanier, for speaking out and establishing internal police policies aimed at curtailing anti-transgender discrimination.
However, the two said police have yet to solve a string of violent attacks over the past several years against transgender residents of the District, including the murders this year of Mclean and Gopalan.
āYouāre hearing an outcry from the community for getting these cases solved,ā said Budd. āAnd again, Iām going to appeal to Chief Lanier to do more in terms of trying to solve some of these transgender murders.ā
Police have said murders of both transgender people and gay men often are difficult to solve because the perpetrators usually are strangers whom the victims met at the time of or shortly before the murder. Police say most of the non-LGBT murders are committed by people who have had some type of relationship with the victim, making it easier for investigators to find witnesses who identify a suspect.
Jeffrey Richardson, director of D.C. Mayor Vincent Grayās Office of LGBT Affairs, told the gathering that Gray considers transgender residents an important part of the cityās diverse and vibrant community.
āWe believe people are to be judged by the content of their character, not by their gender identity,ā Richardson said. āLetās rid our city and our country of the hatred that leads to violence and the loss of life.ā
Rev. Abena McCray, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of D.C., which has a largely African American LGBT congregation, said transgender residents are welcome in the cityās faith community.
Following a selection of songs by her churchās Agape Praise Choir, McCray delivered a sermon-like talk calling for acceptance and support for the cityās transgender residents.
āYou are unique, and the Creator loves you just as you are,ā she said. āYou are not a mistake. God doesnāt make mistakesā¦We celebrate transgender today. Lord, you knew what you were doing when you created transgender.”
Corado said support of the event by the larger LGBT community has been uplifting to transgender residents despite the continued incidents of anti-trans violence in D.C.
āI am extremely happy because the support that we have gotten from the LGBT community and allies has been outstanding in the last couple of years,ā she said. “Itās just amazing that people do care about what happens to us. And it makes us feel like weāre not alone.ā
Transgender activist Jason Terry of the D.C. Trans Coalition said he is encouraged that the Day of Remembrance took place less than a week after the White House hosted an historic, first-ever meeting on transgender issues, including the issue of anti-trans violence.
āThis is a great event, as always,ā he said of the Day of Remembrance. āItās so important to pause and remember those that weāve lost. Weāve had a bad year. The way we honor those deaths is by moving forward towards justice.ā
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
āYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimoreās 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
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